Melania Trump's bronze statue in her native Slovenia cut off at the ankles and stolen; police launch manhunt

A bronze statue of Donald Trump’s wife Melania in Slovenia has been stolen. Someone cut the statue at the ankles and stole it from a private field in Sevnica, where Melania Trump was born. Police are investigating the theft.

According to police spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus this incident of a large statue was reported on May 13, as per The Guardian report.

Brad Downey, an American conceptual artist, made the statue. He told AFP he’s “a bit sad that it’s gone.” Downey also said the theft might be connected to the "new election of Donald Trump," but added, "who knows, right?”, according to the report.

History of Bronze statue

This bronze statue was made in September 2020. It replaced a wooden version that was burned down on July 4, 2020. Melania's Inauguration Day look was carved on the wooden statue. It stood for about a year before it was burned.

Both statues, the wooden and the bronze, were collaborations between Brad Downey and local artist Ales Zupevc.

According to The Guardian, Zupevc made the first statue by cutting a fallen linden tree with a chainsaw. He told reporters, “I didn’t burn the statue or ask anyone else to do it.”

When he built the bronze one, Downey told German magazine Monopol that it had to be "as solid as possible" and made from "durable material" so it couldn't be "wantonly destroyed."

No one knows if Melania Trump ever saw any of the statues with her own eyes.

Donald Trump never visited Slovenia, even after he became president in 2017. So he never saw any statue of himself or Melania there.

There was also a 26-foot wooden statue of Donald Trump in Slovenia, made by Tomaz Schlegl. That statue showed two faces, one human and nice, and one like a vampire, according to the reports. That Trump statue was also burned down.

FAQs

Q1. Who made the Melania Trump statue in Slovenia?
It was created by Brad Downey and local artist Ales Zupevc.

Q2. Why was the first Melania statue replaced?
The original wooden statue was burned down in 2020